Jordan Ridgeway
Jordan Ridgeway DPT (born Tammy Sue) is a fictional character on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. The character is portrayed by former All My Children actress Chrishell Stause. She made her on-screen debut on August 15, 2013. The character was introduced as a physical therapist brought to Salem by Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow) to help an ailing Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering) during his rehabilitation; she soon begins to develop a relationship with Rafe, much to the displeasure of Kate, who immediately sets out to discover the secrets that Jordan has been harboring. Casting On March 22, 2013, Chrishell Stause was belated in the fact that the once cancelled All My Children, where she played Amanda Dillon from 2005 to 2011, had been revived, but revealed that she could not participate in the reboot because she was already under contract with another daytime soap. However the actress could not speak on the casting at the time. On April 18, 2013, TVLine officially announced that Stause had joined the cast of Days of our Lives in a contract role, with August as a potential air date. However, information about the character was not made available. Stause filmed her first scenes during the week of April 7, 2013. Many suspected that Stause would be a recast of Cassie Brady (Alexis Thorpe). Stause said she enjoyed playing such a different role and appreciated that it allowed her to branch out. Stause was offered another "more glamorous," but she chose to take the role of Jordan because it was so different from her previous roles. Stause learned about the role from her manager and when she went in to audition, she found out that they were casting for two separate roles. Actress Jen Lilley revealed that she had also auditioned for the role of Jordan, before she was cast in the role of Theresa Donovan, which is the other role Stause referred to. On October 24, 2014, Stause confirmed her exit from the series, citing her time as up with the series. Characterization Stause told Soapdom.com, that she enjoyed the "layers to the character." In an interview with TVLine, Stause revealed that her character did not wear any makeup. However, Jordan is very serious about her career, and "she’s very no-nonsense. She’s not there to humor anyone. In fact, she comes across robotic at first." Of her character's introduction, Stause said Jordan is "strong, very smart, very take-charge, all business." She does not care about her physical appearance. Of her character's "impersonal" demeanor, Stause said, "She's not bitchy, she's just very businesslike." Jordan is not "meek" or "sheepish," but instead, "She will literally bark you out of the room," Stause said. Despite the character's onscreen appearance, the series released several publicity photos with Stause looking completely different from her character. The character is "definitely working with a good moral compass," Stause said in an interview with Soaps She Knows. Stause said Jordan is a "good person, because it takes a certain type of person who wants to be a physical therapist and really heal people." Jordan gives "tough love, but she gets results." Stause told About.com that she took the "tough love" approach from her own sister's physical therapist Introduction In June 2013, Stause revealed that her character is very "very opposite," of her All My Children character, Amanda. Stause said that the character harbors secrets. Stause also revealed that she shared her first scenes with Galen Gering and Lauren Koslow, who portrayed Rafe Hernandez and Kate Roberts. Stause told On-Air On-Soaps that the secret was a significant one. Of the character's introduction, executive producer Ken Corday said it would be a "very slow build."14 Stause said the character's slow introduction allowed for viewers to "warm up" to the character. The character is introduced as a "plain Jane" physical therapist who joins the staff at Salem University Hospital. Jordan's arrival strikes a nerve with Kate, who thinks she is a man, because of her name. Kate feels threatened because of her "friends with benefits" relationship with Rafe. Stause said the character would eventually make a "transition," similar to Rachael Leigh Cook's character in She's All That. Early Life Jordan was born Tammy Sue. Her father drank himself to death and her mother married a man named Clyde Weston, and they had a son named Oliver. One day, Jordan and her mom got into a fight over her refusal to leave Clyde, who was abusive towards her. Jordan was underage and her mom told her to drive. Jordan got into an accident and her mom died. Clyde covered it up, but used it to blackmail Jordan into doing things she would never do (it has been implied that Clyde forced Jordan into sleeping with him and his buddy, but it has never been confirmed). It is also assumed Clyde abused Ben, so one day Jordan took Ben, stole some money from Clyde and they ran away. When Ben was old enough, she and Jordan separated so Clyde would have a harder time tracking them down. Brief Character History In late spring of 2013, Rafe Hernandez was badly beaten and then spent time in a medically induced coma. While in the coma, he was almost attacked by one of Stefano's men. Worried about his safety and who else Stefano might have on his payroll, Rafe's girlfriend, Kate, set out to hire a physical therapist for Rafe. After reviewing resumes, she selected Jordan Ridgeway. When Jordan arrived at the hospital, Kate was shocked to see that Jordan was a female, though a somewhat homely looking woman with glasses and a stringy ponytail. Rafe and Jordan got to work almost immediately. Jordan was very strict with Rafe's treatment plan. Kate was uneasy with the connection forming between Jordan and Rafe. So, she began searching into Jordan's background. Her private investigator was having a hard time finding anything. Meanwhile, Jordan and Rafe were growing closer. They shared a kiss. Afterwards, Jordan went home and looked through a box of fake ID and told herself that she wasn't going to run this time. But, she also told Rafe that nothing more could happen between them while she is his therapist. Rafe continued to heal and as soon as he could be released from the hospital to continue his therapy at home, he fired Jordan and hired a new therapist. Jordan and Rafe began dating and were very happy together. But Kate was still suspicious and continued digging into Jordan's past. Kate hired Jordan's former roommate, Sheryl, to work at Mad World. Jordan was shaken when she saw Sheryl in Salem, but eventually the two settled things and continued their friendship in Salem. Kate couldn't get any information about Jordan out of Sheryl so Kate hired another private investigator to keep looking into Jordan's past. Eventually, Kate's investigator lead her to Poplar Bluff, MO where Kate met a man named Clyde. He said he was Jordan and Ben's father. Kate told him that Jordan and Ben were living in Salem. What Kate didn't know was that Clyde was an abusive father. He beat Ben as a child. He also wasn't Jordan's biological father. According to Clyde, her biological father drank himself to death when Jordan was five years old. When the beatings got to be so bad, a teenage Jordan stole money from Clyde, took Ben, and ran away from home. They moved several times and eventually split up so that Clyde would have a harder time finding them. Ben and Jordan were terrified to see Clyde in Salem. Category:Days of our lives characters Category:Fictional Villains